Maintaining Your Metal Roof in Just a Few Steps

If you have chosen to invest your money into a metal roof, you have made a wise decision. It’s easier to maintain than other types of roofs but you still have to do some maintenance. Here are a few steps involved if you want to do it right.

Maintaining Your Roof Each Year is Important and Here’s What You Should Do.

1. Safety First

Make sure that you are wearing safety equipment before you even think of stepping on the roof. Don’t walk on fragile surfaces and the kind of shoes you wear should have soft soles that aren’t black to protect your roof from unwanted marks. Wear safety equipment.

If you are not comfortable in stepping on your roof to any degree, please let a professional handle the job, in fact, it is advised that you do so. You don’t need to make things more difficult than they already are.

2. Carry Out Prior Clean Up

You start with the cleaning bit first. You have to clean out the drain boxes, roof gutters, and downspouts. There are usually leaves and other organic debris left on roofs that need to be cleared first. If this doesn’t happen, the roof gutter system will start to back up and overflow, resulting in a badly damaged and leaky roof.

Next, come the tree branches on the roof. Clear them out. Make sure there is no debris left on the roof before you start with the real maintenance. If you have an overhanging tree, you might want to do this cleanliness exercise more often.

Otherwise, your roof may be destroyed by plants that find it a cozy environment because of the dirt leaves, dust and debris there.

3. Check for Any Leaks and Seal Them Up

It often happens that heat and air ventilation outlets and skylights are causing the leaks, either because they aren’t in closing properly and need to be repaired.

If there are cracks in the area, you can use a metal roofing sealant to close up the cracks that are causing water to seep into your house through your attic. The silicones in the area may be dried out or may have shrunk and need to be filled in again. There are some sealants out on the market that will not crack under pressure or exposure, so make sure to use those sealants only.

4. Inspecting the Roof

Chimneys, oil condensers, vents and other areas above the kitchen or air conditioning units need to be checked because the paint may chip and break apart, exposing the metal and corroding it. Also be on the lookout for loose roof sheets, fasteners, and punctures on the roof from overhead objects, check for larger objects.

For a more thorough inspection, you should hire a professional for roof inspections.

5. Ridge Cap Closures

Vents and closures under the ridge caps, transitions and valleys need to be checked to see if they are loose. They should be replaced when they show signs of too much exposure to sunlight and other elements (or when they are coming loose).

To get the full extent of metal panel roof repairs, contact Fix My Roof.